Cable TV
Cable operators take steps to ease vaccination process for staff
KOLKATA: Despite the imminent health risks, the cable industry employees have continued to work on the frontlines all through the pandemic. Now with vaccination drives in full swing across the country, leading cable operators, too, are taking a step ahead and getting their employees inoculated. Apart from organising special vaccination drives in some cities, they are also helping employees schedule slots wherever the camps could not be set-up.
NXTDigital organised a three-day vaccination camp at its head office in Mumbai in conjunction with Hinduja Hospital last week for its workforce in the city. The company extended this drive to also include employees’ families.
“The philosophy has always been to hold the good health and safety of its employees as a paramount endeavour, something that we strived hard for since the pandemic began. NXTDIGITAL, therefore, set up an Employee Health & Safety (EHS) team to help our personnel and their families across the country impacted by COVID, including organising hospital treatment, access to critical medication and the like,” NXTDigital MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes said.
The EHS team is working with NXTDigital employees all across the country, not just supporting personnel to get vaccinated, but also providing every possible assistance to enhance their health and safety.
GTPL Hathway also arranged vaccination drives for 45+ employees in many of its offices, with the help of state governments, GTPL Hathway cable TV head and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said. However, the company could not organise such drives for 18-45+ due to shortage of vaccines. The human resources are helping employees to get the vaccinations scheduled, especially for people on the frontline. Teams are also trying to get the employees slots through government centres.
On the other hand, Siti Networks could not organise the vaccination drive in one or two places given its pan-Indian footprint. But the MSO encouraged all employees to get vaccinated and reimbursed the vaccination cost, said Siti Networks group chief executive officer Anil Malhotra.
Along with vaccination, the company informed that it would help employees procure PPE kits, masks whenever needed. It also imported oxygen concentrators to provide to employees if needed.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
